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Manchester United Women passed another major test of their season on Sunday as they proved their credentials as title contenders by holding on to victory against Spurs.
Their 2–1 win saw them return to the top of the league, one point ahead of Chelsea; however, they have played one more match.
But as The Athletic points out, the table only tells part of the story of United’s fragile recent performances.
After the winter break, United looked tired as they cruised to a 1-0 win over Reading. The goal came from substitute Rachel Williams in the 87th minute and the fans were frustrated.
Then last weekend they drew 0-0 against Everton, giving Chelsea a two-point lead in the title race. It almost felt worse than a loss for the fans.
It’s not that United didn’t have chances, they dominated, but they just needed to be more clinical going on goal; they had 25 shots but couldn’t get one past the line.
It increased the pressure on head coach Marc Skinner, who has been criticized for his reluctance to rotate his squad and bring in backups early.
According to Opta, United have made the fewest changes to any starting XI in the WSL this season (eight), while their opponent on Sunday, Tottenham, have made the third most (30).
After another frustrating first half, United made the breakthrough on 68 minutes when Leah Galton hammered in Ona Batlle’s cross.
Five minutes later, Beth England equalized for the home side before a Bartrip own goal put the Reds ahead again, all within ten minutes of the opening goal.
But if you thought that was dramatic, you hadn’t seen anything.
The referee had lost control of the game long ago, Drew Spence had ruffled some feathers, and Hayley Ladd had gotten into a fight, but after Eveliina Summanen tangled with Ella Toone, the game took a turn for the worse. United.
Toone pushed Summanen to the ground and was shown a straight red.
With ten and ten minutes to go, the momentum was with Spurs, and it would be a tough test for the Reds.
As The Athletic noted, “In the past, United have struggled to get any big results in critical games in the WSL, but this season they have shown signs of turning the tide.”
Their comeback victory over Arsenal earlier in the season showed this was a different side to years past, but their disappointing result against Chelsea and this latest run of form show there is still work to be done.
Skinner himself realized: “We were not fast enough. In the first half, we needed to be quicker in our thought processes before the ball came to us instead of receiving the ball and then making a decision. But the beauty of this team is when we went into halftime, we gave them five minutes and asked them for solutions, and they said they had to do it.”
As they head into the international break, United have a lot to be happy about. Toone’s suspension could be seen as a team that cracks under pressure, or maybe it’s just a blip in a good season for the Reds.
Either way, United are on the right track in their quest for European football next season and are still in contention for the title.
